Bae Kyung-hoon, South Korea’s vice premier and minister of science and ICT, said a token economy and the adoption of blockchain technology will be needed in the era of artificial intelligence.

At a comprehensive audit of the National Assembly’s Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee on October 23, Bae made the remarks in response to Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Woo-young’s question about the need for measures to foster the blockchain industry.

"We need to create economic and social balance for a basic AI society, and a token economy will be important for that," Bae said.

He added that blockchain adoption is needed as part of the token-economy concept, and that the government is reviewing related measures under its "AI for Everyone" initiative.

The government has included the creation of a digital-asset ecosystem in its state agenda and is pushing measures to strengthen the blockchain industry’s competitiveness and draft a basic blockchain law. It has also presented plans to expand the environment and regional infrastructure needed to test digital-asset services.

Kim stressed that South Korea should strengthen domestic technology development and industry support, citing blockchain’s decentralization, security and accessibility.